Opening Notes
by xXDonnaTylerXx
Summary: There was Finn, and then there was Puck. The two opposite ends of the scale. And the only way Rachel can decide between them, as with everything else in her life, is with music. Equal parts Finchel and Puckleberry, Oneshot.


**Hello! This is my first Glee story and just to let you know I'm writing from Britain so forgive me if I get any of the Americanisms wrong! Also it means I'm watching the show on English time, so I've only seen the first ten episodes, but I've written this AU anyway so it doesn't really matter. I'm a huge fan of Rachel/Finn**** and Rachel/Puck so this oneshot is kind of my solution... I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you thought, much appreciated :)**

**Donna xxx**

"Hey Rach, do you need a ride home?" He sidled up to her as she was clipping her new sheet music into her ridiculously organized ring binder at the end of the glee club practice. She turned to face him with a small smile, tucking her folder under her arm and a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she did so.

"Oh, I don't know, Noah..." She started slowly, but he cut her off:

"Come on, I've got a new spare helmet, since the old one was a little loose on you last week." He grinned, "It's pink. I know that's an important part of motorcycle safety to you." And Rachel couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay then." She agreed finally as he picked up her bag, following him out of the rehearsal room and feeling the eyes of Kurt, Tina and Mercedes on her back - She'd have some explaining to do in the morning.

This was running so much more smoothly than usual, Rachel thought as they walked and chattered, some of the confusion she'd been feeling for the past week starting to slip away at last, and she thought she might just be close to making up her mind... But then, as they reached the car park, she heard a voice that just might make her change it all over again.

"Hey, guys!" Called Finn, joining them and casually taking Rachel's folder full of work and carrying it for her, "How's it going?"

"Fine thank you, Finn." She desperately tried to keep her true expression off her face as her insides twisted at the sight of them both together, "And you?" This was so hard.

"Yeah, great." He replied with the most adorable of smiles, "I was wondering if you needed a ride home again, Rachel? I know it's a long way for you to walk, and I got the stereo fixed in my car so we could listen to some of the new Glee numbers like you suggested... if you want to."

"I, um..." She looked from one to the other, at the expression of realisation dawning on both of their faces.

"It's cool if you want to go with him." Puck said, his voice sounding a little gruffer than usual and giving the impression he wasn't as okay about this as he might seem.

"Totally." Finn agreed, although he was even worse at masking his dismay, "I didn't realise you were already gonna drive her."

"Well, I..." She swallowed, looking from one to the other, "I, um... You know, actually," She swiftly plucked her bag from Puck's shoulder and her folder out from under Finn's arm, "I think I'll walk. I could use the, um, exercise. Thank you both for the offer, gentlemen, and I'll see you both at lunch tomorrow."

And Rachel darted off, hiding the tears now shining in her eyes as this all got too much for her, the pressure mounting for her to choose. She was Rachel Berry, and she was smart - smart enough to know that since the fiasco with Quinn had ended, since the baby had been given up for adoption and both guys were free of _that_ particular burden, they both wanted her. And she couldn't keep both of them waiting much longer.

She slipped her headphones (pink, of course) into her ears as she began the long walk home, desperately needing a distraction from her own thoughts, which were bouncing around at a thousand miles an hour. She scrolled through the artists on her iPod, nothing leaping out at her. This was ridiculous, music was a part of her soul and usually had the power to cheer her up no matter what, but right now she just couldn't think of a single song she wanted to listen to. Until she reached the G's, and clicked on the Glee Club songs that they had sung in the school's tiny recording studio facility, which Mr. Schue had had to fight Sue Sylvester tooth and nail for the money to install.

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she flicked through the selection, remembering the fun of rehearsing, re-rehearsing and recording them_: You're The One That I Want, Halo/Walking On Sunshine, Defying Gravity, Somebody to Love, No Air, Gold Digger, Maybe This Time_... And then she reached the final two songs.

_Don't Stop Believin'._ The song which had made her believe that Finn Hudson had what it took to be her leading man, that when he took her hand for the first time and belted the tune out with the same passion and spark as her, she had felt as if he meant it.

And then, right at the bottom of the list, was _Sweet Caroline. _And when Noah Puckerman had pulled out his acoustic guitar and sang that song, even though she was surrounded by her fellow club members, Rachel had felt as though she were the only person in the room. Hell, in the world.

Her finger moved back and forth around the wheel of her iPod as she scrolled frantically between the two songs, unable to believe how much they both meant to her, what they represented, and how unable she was to pick between them.

_This time last week_, she thought_, I was home by now. And the day after, too. _But timing was the only thing that had been similar between those two evenings.

One week ago, after Thursday night's Glee rehearsal, Puck had sidled up to her in much the same way as he had tonight, taken her bag for her, and offered her a ride home. And, pleasantly surprised and blushing, she had accepted.

"Oh," her face had fallen as they stopped in front of a highly polished motorcycle, "I don't know if I should-"

"Don't worry." he had cut across her, grinning his delectable lazy grin at her and pulling out a blue helmet, "You'll be perfectly safe."

"But Noah, I-"

"I know." He had taken her hands, looked her deeply in the eyes, "You're scared. But it's natural. Think about how scared you feel before you step out on stage, how you use that fear. How exhilarating it is, how much stronger it makes you." He squeezed her hands, before placing the helmet on her head, fastening the strap for her and pronouncing "There. Beautiful."

And, against all of her better, rational judgement, Rachel had smiled and nodded, climbing in a ladylike manner onto the motorcycle as Puck instructed her to. As he climbed on in front, she hadn't known what to do with her hands, but he had quickly solved that problem by pulling them around his waist and instructing her to hold on tight. At first, she had felt a little awkward, and only loosely gripped - but as they sped off, she found herself clinging to his strong, muscular figure as though her life depended on it.

And to her surprise, as they whizzed through Lima, although the wind whipped in her eyes and ears and the bike tilted dangerously, Rachael had never felt so secure in her life.

They had stopped outside her house and he had spun around in his seat to face her, to see the widest smile on her face as he asked her "Well? What'd I tell ya?"

Rachael had merely laughed in response, her highest, breathiest, truest laugh, and he had grinned, "Pretty darn spectacular, huh?" Before reaching up to take the helmet off of her.

"It was a little big for me." She admitted, her voice still breathy, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed from the wind, "But Noah... Oh, I loved it!"

"I knew you would. You need a little risk in your life, Rachel Berry. Somewhere behind that demure little girl is a daredevil, I just knew it! So, will I be able to tempt you to another ride?"

"Oh, I don't know." She smiled, "As long as you promise to get me a helmet that fits..."

"You can count on it." He had grinned, and then, without any warning, he had leaned forward and pressed his mouth against hers, in a fast-paced, exciting kiss that Rachel had been surprised to find she was all too willing to return. It was passionate, new, exotic... And she loved it. Truly, she did. But just as soon as it had started, it was over, and somehow she found herself standing at her front door, glancing back at Puck who remained seated on the motorcycle.

He had winked, and then sped off, leaving Rachel to let herself into her house, shocked... But somehow feeling happier than she had in a long time.

She could barely believe her luck... But then, the next day, something had happened which had the combine effect of making her happier still, more excited... And also left her confused as hell.

It had started in Spanish class, which she had final period the next day, and in which she sat on the desk adjacent to Finn's. While the class had been quietly learning their verbs, he had silently passed a note across the aisle and Rachel, after a quick glance to ensure Mr. Schuester wasn't looking (thankfully he wasn't, being to preoccupied trying to explain that you didn't pronounce the "H" in "Hola" to Brittany), took it.

_How do you get home? _It read in Finn's wide handwriting, to which she replied in her fancy script:

_Normally I walk... Why?_

_I was thinking_ _I_ _could give you a ride home, if you wanted too. _She smiled slightly at his improper use of the word "too", wondering how he expected to pass Spanish if he couldn't use basic English... But somehow, his innocent lack of intelligence made him seem all the sweeter to Rachel, all the more gentle. She glanced across the aisle at his worried face, and nodded with a small smile, which he returned warmly.

Rachel couldn't help but notice the gentlemanly way in which he had taken her folder from her as they had left Spanish class, and held open the door for her as they reached his small, battered looking car.

"It's not much," He told her, the slightly worried look back on his face as he slid into the drivers seat, "The stereo doesn't even work, but hey, it's mine."

"That's a shame, we could have listened to some of the new Glee numbers."

"Yeah, that would have been great. But I mean, it's something. I figured, I had that job and once Quinn stopped getting me to give her money, I had quite a bit of cash and nothing to spend it on... So I got this. It's only had, like, four previous owners."

"I think it's lovely." She told him genuinely, and Finn seemed at ease once he'd gotten her approval. "You know, I really can't believe Quinn did that to you all that time, it was so unfair to put all that pressure on you.

"Yeah," he agreed, "I was really starting to feel something for that baby, you know? I'd never had that kind of responsibility before and, you know..."

Finn carried on talking, and Rachael pipped in every so often, unable to believe how much they were opening up to each other and how honest and vulnerable he seemed... And before they knew it, they had pulled in outside Rachel's house.

"The drive just flew by." She said with a smile, and he nodded.

"Yeah, it did. I really love talking to you, Rachel, I don't know what it is but it's just... easy, somehow."

"I know." She said, "You know, I was..." But she trailed off as she saw the way Finn was looking at her, an intense gaze right into her eyes which just made her heart melt. And even though this was just complicating things, even though she was sure she had the start of something really great going with Puck, she didn't stop Finn when he leaned in to kiss her. If anything, she leaned in too.

This, unlike last night's fast, frantic makeout, was slow. Delicate, soft... Still passionate, but in the most opposite way possible. And as they pulled away, finally, the look of gentle bewilderment on Finn's face was the complete opposite of Noah's cocksure grin the evening before. And it was only as Finn had driven away, as Rachel had collapsed exhaustedly on her bed, that she realised she was completely unsure of which she preferred.

She couldn't get their faces from a week before out of her head as she walked home now, still holding her iPod in her hand and scrolling desperately between _Sweet Caroline _and _Don't Stop Believin'_.

Even their modes of transport represented them, she thought, Puck's shiny motorcycle that brought her excitement, fear even, but still a sense of comfort, as well as a new experience, something foreign and _alive. _Finn's battered second hand car, like him, someone who had been hurt, devastated even, but was ploughing on. Innocent, kind and loving, someone who needed her warmth and her kindness and was completely willing to give it in return.

On paper, it seemed easy - Rachel was much more the secure, gentle kind of girl... But Puck just lit something inside her, a passion which gave her so much more confidence and belief... But then Finn gave her that too, by making her feel like the most special girl in the world...

Oh, this was just too, hard, she decided as she finally arrived home, letting herself into her room and sitting gingerly down on the bed. She had an idea... Albeit a risky one.

Her iPod was still in her hand, and she couldn't believe that she, calm, rational thinker Rachel Berry, was going to make her choice like this. But she just couldn't see any other way. This was it.

Her hand shaking, she added both songs to a brand new playlist. _Sweet Caroline. Don't Stop Believin'. _This was going to go one way or the other. Music had always been such a huge part of her life, it essentially _was _her life, and she just knew it wouldn't let her down now.

She clicked on the short playlist, staring at both song titles, slipped her headphones in, and pressed shuffle. And then Rachel closed her eyes, held her breath, and waited to hear her fate, as the opening notes of one of the songs started to play.

Her eyes shot open as she heard which tune it was, and her smile grew as the song progressed to the verse, the chorus. Inside, she thought, she must have known this all along, but this had just confirmed it. She knew now exactly what she had to do, and she sure as hell wasn't going to waste time doing it.

Rachel let the song finish, and then threw her iPod down, darted immediately over to her phone and began to dial.

"Hello?" She heard him answer, and by the feeling that erupted all the way through her as she heard his voice, she knew immediately that she had made the right choice.

"Hi," She breathed, "It's Rachel."

He was over at her house within ten minutes of them hanging up. Within fifteen, he was kissing her again, everything it had been last week and more... And it felt so, so right.

_Listen to your heart? _Rachel thought as she felt his arms around her, _Screw that. Listen to your iPod. _


End file.
